Social Media Final Presentation

“Journalism finds itself at a rare moment in history where … its hegemony as gatekeeper of the news is threatened by not just new technology and competitors but, potentially, by the audience it serves.” - New Direction for News

...it is important for us to understand how the dominance of social media is positively or negatively impacting the news industry and its pivotal values.

How It Works

Challenges of News Bloggers?

• Usually founded by individuals for non-profit work
• Guest bloggers/contributors are responsible for the blog's content

(news aggregating)

• Blog sites revenue largely from internet advertising
• Citations to sources encouraged, but not generally followed

Prominent News Websites

• Bloggers lack the financial and educational resources that journalists have (According to PEW Institute, 99% of news bloggers source traditional news outlets and mainstream publishers)
• Bloggers are more detached from objectivity, as they generally blog with an agenda (bloggers are known to be more like activists than journalists)
• Blogs focus more on "sensationalist" news to gain a loyal following
• When a news blog organization gains credibility and a good reputation, they are bought out by corporate sponsors

The Rise of the Blogosphere

The Daily Beast

www.thedailybeast.com

The Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.com

Hot Air

www.hotair.com

• Collapsing economic model of print journalism--advertising is going digital
• Social media tools making shift in power to the audience
• Loss of trust in existing media institutions

What can be done?

• Educate younger people on "news blogging" and participatory media, as well as the ethics and importance of objectivity in the news

• Combine the power of the two sides and create a conversation between news sources and their viewers; allow bloggers to be a source of accountability for news sources

• Empower the groundswell! Value the power the blogosphere possesses and give them the tools to improve their work

While there are great things social media has done to enhance journalism...

• In the past few years, over 34,800 news-related professionals have been laid off (editors, journalists, newspaper printers, etc.)
• More and more Americans rely on getting their news online--but a majority of users are skeptical about online sources

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/readers-are-abandoning-print-yet-dont-trust-the-web/

Future of Journalism: News Aggregating? News-ipedia?

Thank You!

"TBD will never be a finished product. On the web, on mobile devices and on our 24-hours cable news channel, we’ll always be in motion: constantly updating, improving and evolving; seeking more details, reaction or community conversation. We’ll be a place you visit to watch the news unfold in real time. ... We’ll be honest with our community about what we know and what we don’t know. We’ll tell you what questions we’re still pursuing and tell you how you can help us find the answers."

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1060218311.php

http://www.delicious.com/annasophiamoran